The Sheldrake - McKenna - Abraham Trialogues [archive 1989-1998]

The Sheldrake - McKenna - Abraham Trialogues [archive 1989-1998]


Trialogues editor: Paddy Rose Price

These trialogues are from a series of lively, far-reaching discussions between Rupert and his close friends Ralph Abraham and Terence McKenna, that took place between 1989 and 1998, in America and England. These three-way conversations began in private after their first meeting in 1982. Encouraged by their similar fascinations and complimentary views, and inspired by the synergy of their ideas and styles and the input of differing areas of expertise, the three friends continued to meet and explore new areas of thought. Throughout their public trialogues, which began in 1989, they maintained the spontaneous, playful and intrepid spirit of their private talks, and were thrilled that these explorations inspired further discussions amongst their audiences. Their trialogues and friendship have been a source of great inspiration and stimulation for their own lives and work. In their first set of public trialogues, held as a workshop at Esalen in 1989, they explored aspects of the world soul from the perspectives of chaos, creativity and imagination, and discussed many topics including: light and vision; the psilocybin mushroom; the unconscious; entities; the resacralization of the world; the reform of the educational system and the Apocalypse. Their second series of trialogues examined evolution in all its forms, through new topics that included: grassroots science; psychedelics, computers and mathematics; psychic animals; the World Wide Web; celestial intelligences; the nature of time and the evolving mind. Edited transcripts of many of their first series of trialogues are published in the book Trialogues at the Edge of the West (later published as Chaos, Creativity, and Cosmic Consciousness), and many of those from their second series can be found in The Evolutionary Mind. Ralph Abraham, PhD, is a Professor of Mathematics, author, and pioneer in the fields of Chaos theory, computer graphics, visual mathematics and dynamical systems. Terence McKenna was an ethnopharmacologist, shamanologist, and author, known for his theories on plant hallucinogens and the novelty wave, and the bardic skill with which he conveyed his ideas. Sadly Terence died aged 53 on April 3, 2000.

http://www.sheldrake.org


Files:

1. Cast of Characters
An introduction to the first series of public trialogues held at Esalen, California in 1989.

2. The Evolutionary Mind
What could have been the cause for the breakthrough in the evolution of human consciousness around 50,000 years ago?

3. Consciousness and Machines
A discussion on the evolution of consciousness as it relates to machines. Symbolic logic, nanotechnology and the possibility of a synthetic super-intelligence.

4. History, Fractals and Change
The fractal idea of history, and millenia as the plateaus of history. These bifurcation periods as opportunities to influence the creation of the future.

5. Creativity and the Imagination
The crisis in science: collision between the permanent and evolutionary views of the nature of reality. A wide-ranging discussion in two parts.

6. Creativity and Chaos
The chaos revolution, chaotic attractors and indeterminism in nature. A comprehensive discussion in two parts.

7. Chaos and the Imagination
How can chaos theory and full access to the imagination aid us in our understanding of the world and in the creation of our future? A discussion in 2 parts.

8. Light and Vision
How is our own vision related to light, and how is the perception of the world soul related to light? A discussion in 2 parts.

9. Entities
Are disincarnate and non-human entities mental projections or non-physical, autonomous entities? How do they relate to the world soul and how can we interpret their messages? A discussion in 2 parts.

10. The Unconscious
What is the nature of the unconscious, and how can we access its restorative powers? A discussion in 2 parts.

11. The Resacralisation of the World
In what ways can we bring the sacred back into the world? A discussion in 2 parts.

12. Education in the New World Order
How could the educational system be reformed and resacralized? A discussion in 2 parts

13. The Apocalypse
This investigation into apocalyptic messages starts with the question of whether they are self-fulfilling prophecies or intuitions of instability.
A discussion in 2 parts.

14. Grass Roots Science
The trialoguers discuss the need for a new grassroots model of science.
A discussion in 2 parts.

15. Saving the World
The trialoguers address the problem of over-population and resource depletion.
A discussion in 2 parts.

16. Gender Issues
Exploring gender issues and ways to heal society.
A discussion in 2 parts.

17. Cannabis
The trialoguers discuss cannabis and its potential as a tool for cultural evolution.
A discussion in 2 parts.

18. Crop Circles
An in-depth investigation into the mystery of crop circles.
A discussion in 2 parts.

19. Psychedelics and the Computer Revolution
The cultural impact of psychedelics and the computer revolution.
A discussion in 2 parts

20. Fields, Brains and Chaos
Rupert and Ralph explore fields and the memory process
A discussion in 2 parts

21. A Report on Crop Circles
Further explorations into the crop circle mystery.

22. Psychedelics and Mathematical Vision
Exploring the connection between mathematical vision and the psychedelic experience. (2 parts).

23. The Immediate Future and the Millennium
How can society be reconstructed and improved? (2 parts).

24. The Heavens
Rediscovering a sense of the life of nature and of the heavens. (2 parts).

25. Utopianism and Millenarianism
The ongoing cultural impact of utopianism and millenarianism. (2 parts).

26. Hazelwood Introductions
The three friends describe each others’ lives and work.

27. Homing Pigeons
Homing pigeons and the extraordinary implications of unexplained biological mysteries. (2 parts).

28. Time
New ways of understanding the nature of time. (2 parts).

29. Fractals
How fractal models can enhance our understanding of the world. (2 parts).

30. Angels, Entities and the Heavens
Recovering the links between heavenly states and the physical heavens.

31. Hawaii
In Hawaii, the trialoguers explore what Hawaii can teach us about evolution. (2 parts).

32. The World Wide Web
A trialogue from 1994 on the transformative potential of the World Wide Web (2 parts).

33. Scepticism and the Balkanization of Epistemology
A trialogue on finding the middle ground between unanchored speculation and dogmatic scepticism (2 parts).

34. Morphogenetic Family Fields
An investigation into telepathic bonds within social groups and the nature of the fields that may underlie these connections (2 parts).

35. Mini Trialogue - Questions and Answers
The last trialogue between Rupert, Ralph and Terence. They cover a wide range of fascinating topics sparked by audience questions (2 parts)